CuervoNation Campaign Seeks to Delay End of Summer

(DIRECT)—CuervoNation, the loyalty arm of Jose Cuervo Tequila, has launched a viral marketing campaign to delay Labor Day until Sept. 23, the official end of summer.

It also hopes to add between 10,000 and 15,000 names to its consumer database, according to Maria Mandel, vice president and director of DraftDigital in New York, Draft's online division.

Ostensibly, the campaign seeks to enroll consumers between the ages of 21 and 29 who wish to delay the end of the summer season. But the campaign, which is being touted though magazine advertisements, online advertising and on bottles of the product itself, will ultimately serve to augment the company's 80,000 name database.

Consumers are invited to sign a virtual petition located at www.cuervonation.com, and to encourage friends to follow suit. The individual who persuades the most friends to sign on will receive a prize package that includes cash, a mini-stereo, a gas grill, margarita mix and other gifts.

The company has been collecting consumer information for roughly a year, said Sam Chadha, global integrated marketing manager at Jose Cuervo International. When folks sign up for the program, they are asked a variety of demographic questions and a few about their tequila consumption habits (how often and in what form, such as straight up or in mixed drinks).

The "Endless Summer" campaign is being supported by magazine ads—usually one-third page ads that accompany full-page brand positions—as well as online advertising a variety of radio stations and "laddie" magazines such as FHM or Maxim. CuervoNation's annual marketing budget is in the low tens of millions, according to an industry source.

CuervoNation itself is an eight-acre Caribbean island founded by Jose Cuervo Tequila, according to company documents.

CuervoNation is known for its far-fetched attention-generating schemes: In April 1996, it petitioned for membership within the United Nations. At deadline, member status had not been granted.

Once the campaign to move Labor Day ends, on Sept. 16, the company plans to present the petition to an elected official on the steps of the Capitol.

And if CuervoNation can't get the president, or a congressperson, to accept it? "If all else fails, it may be a lookalike," spokesperson Melissa Kruse said.